Quantcast

Local immigration office opens in Long Island City

USCIS Long Island City Office Grand Opening 2012 026W
Photo Courtesy of Congressmember Carolyn Maloney

In an effort to increase accessibility and convenience for its customers, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially opened to the public with help from elected officials, as well as immigration service representatives.

The new USCIS Queens center, located at 27-35 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, will serve up to 500 customers from Queens and Brooklyn every day. The center will incorporate both a full service field office and an application support center – this will mean customers will not have to go to separate locations for fingerprinting and biometrics.

Congressmember Carolyn Maloney hailed the opening of this new location and said residents will now get the services they need in the comfort of their own neighborhood.

“With multiple lines of subway and bus access, this center is significantly more convenient for the residents of Queens and Brooklyn than the previous service center in Garden City, Long Island,” said Maloney. “By using innovative, high-tech tools, this new immigration office will be able to serve up to five hundred customers per day. I commend Director Alejandro Mayorkas and District Director Andrea Quarantillo for their leadership, and I salute all the employees of USCIS for their hard work and dedication to the ideals of this nation. Queens has long been the melting pot not only of New York, but of America – and in opening this new office, USCIS is paying tribute to this great tradition and making life a little easier for thousands of Queens residents and their loved ones.”

Joining Maloney at the grand opening were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Assemblymembers Cathy Nolan and Grace Meng, Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer, Daniel Dromm and Julissa Ferreras, as well as Commissioner Fatima Shama of the mayor’s office of Immigrant Affairs.

The new high-tech service center in Queens is part of a national USCIS effort to increase accessibility and convenience for its customers. The new center will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., except on federal holidays.